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A considerable number of deviations from norms held by participants occur in intercultural contact situations. In the case of foreign (non-J) participants in Japan the number is currently increasing as more speakers join Japanese networks. The present paper examines the process through which deviations are evaluated. The paper accepts the importance of the principle of cultural relativism, but emphasis is placed on evaluation through ‘‘contact norms’’ (norms specific to contact situations), ‘‘shared norms’’ (norms of non-J participants shared by at least a part of the J population) and ‘‘universal norms’’, though the establishment of the last category is not easy.
